ADVERTISING AND MARKETING DIVISION PROCEDURES MANUAL

April 7, 1942, should be almost as significant a date in the minds of advertising librarians as that of the Declaration of Independence. In a sense, the letter written on that day to the SLA Executive Board was their "declaration of independence." Attached to that letter was a petition requesting that the Executive Board recognize a Group to be known as the Advertising Group. All 21 signers were members of the Advertising Section of the Commerce Group of the New York Chapter. Eleven were advertising agency librarians, and seven were publishing librarians who served the advertising departments of their publications.

On June 20, 1942, at a SLA Executive Board meeting in Detroit the petition was presented. It was then referred to a Committee on Special Libraries Organization for Study and Recommendation. Letters from the 'petitioners' to the 'petitioned' flew rapidly back and forth, and the cause of the advertising librarians gained momentum. Under the vigorous leadership of Chair Delphine Humphrey, who wouldn't take 'no' or 'later' for an answer, the advertising librarians extracted a promise from the Executive Board to give every consideration to the matter at its fall meeting in October 1942.

"There are occasions and causes, why and wherefore in all things," said the Board. The whys and wherefores of the advertising librarians' petition compiled a list that was truly formidable. The formation in the Association of an Advertising Group, distinct from the Commerce Group, was justified.

The reasons advanced were too logical and well formed for the SLA Board to remain unconvinced. In the Fall of 1942 the Advertising Group was established with a membership of 340. The first organizational meeting was held in New York City. In 1950 51, the name of the Advertising Group was changed to the Advertising Division and later, in recognition of its widening scope, became the Advertising & Marketing Division.

Through the years, several worthwhile projects have been carried out under the aegis of the Advertising & Marketing Division, including courses on advertising sources and public relations. Each year, the Division plans a full schedule of programs and events for the SLA Annual Conference.

The Division's publications program is directed toward the issuing of informative and useful material for the membership. Its BULLETIN was first published in June 1943 and was edited by Edith E. Becker. This publication has served as the Division's means of communicating with the membership. The BULLETIN highlights Division members and activities, and includes information product evaluations and special profiles.

Periodically, the Division contributes to the Association's publication Special Libraries. The Summer 1991 issue "Public Relations in Special Libraries," was edited by the Division's Public Relations Chair, Holly Bussey. The Division contributed a chapter to SLA's book Tools of the Profession. This chapter was edited by Division members Bert Schachter and Gretchen Reed. The Division also has published two editions of International Advertising & Marketing Information Sources through SLA.

With a membership of over 500 information professionals, the Advertising & Marketing Division has evolved into a dynamic group of people from all disciplines. Interest in the marketing field has expanded, and so has our membership. Representatives from advertising agencies, telemarketers, educational institutions, museums, the arts, engineering and medicine comprise just some of the diverse background of our ranks. Our membership is truly international, and includes members in Canada, Great Britain, France, Australia and Japan. The Division continues to be an enthusiastic leader in positioning libraries and information centers as critical assets, which includes working with SLA on a marketing and media plan to promote the profession.

(Adapted from Mary Margaret Regan's "Advertising Division Highlights," in Special Libraries Association - Its First Fifty Years, 1909-1959, ed. by Alma Clarvoe Mitchell (New York: SLA, 1959), pp. 73-74, and Gretchen Reed's "The Advertising & Marketing Division: 50 Years of Marketing Information Intelligently" in the BULLETIN, Spring 1992, p.3.)